Bill Lowes beaten to death with axe handle by Bryan Crews

Mentioned in the previous episode reviewed here, Forensic Files occasionally gets to interview the crime's actual perpetrator. The episode Frozen Assets (s13e01) sees George Hansen murder his business partner Mary Ann Clibbery. Hansen is pegged as a suspect early in the episode, but the show's interview with him suggests he is not incarcerated and likely not Mary Ann's killer. But by the show's midway point, the evidence is stacking up against George, and he's ultimately convicted.

Including an interview with a suspect who's later cleared of the crime isn't uncommon. In the episode Wired for Disaster (s10e40), Kem Wenger is murdered by a pipe bomb left just inside her front door. Her fiancé Kurt Simon is among the initial suspects, but he is soon cleared of any wrongdoing. Simon's interview segments add interest and color to an already solid episode. The late-series episode Fashion Police (s13e17) covers the murder of single mother Julie Braun. Owing back child support and with a new girlfriend, Julie's ex-husband John was a potential suspect (as was his new girlfriend Brenda). The interview with John Braun gave pretty clear indications that he nor Brenda was involved in Julie's murder.

But similar to George Hansen's jailhouse conversation with Forensic Files, Bryan Crews was the subject of an interview – many of the clips were included in our episode. At first, it seems Crews might not be involved in the murder of his ex-stepfather Bill Lowes. He has an even demeanor and expresses sentimentality during his late teen years after his mother Wanda married Bill. But as the episode unravels and Crews' alibi begins to fall apart, the viewer likely starts to realize this is one of the rare convict interviews.

The Bryan Crews interview segments begin around the episode's 7:20 mark, and they seem positive and heartfelt. Bryan starts off speaking highly of Bill Lowes (despite an offhand comment about his excessive drinking), calling him the dad he always wanted and never had. But before a commercial break, when Mike Hale's statements implicate Crews, he vehemently states, "I did not kill Bill Lowes," and offers to take a polygraph test.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

From that point, Crews' interview segments go downhill. The episode's 16:20 mark begins something as close to an actual confession as Bryan Crews comes. After denying he'd even been to Bill's house on the night of his murder, he now admits to going by to pick up some of his items. Without indicating any cause for an altercation, Crews claims Bill Lowes attacked him with an axe handle. This seems unlikely, but Crews goes on to say, "I took it away and hit him in the head with it."

Bill Lowes' cause of death was multiple blows to the head with a solid, linear object. Forensics revealed the axe handle found on the roof of a nearby office building exhibited traces of Bill's blood and microscopically similar hair. Note that Crews is now admitting to striking Bill Lowes in the head with the murder weapon. But what he says next is downright disturbing. "I know I hit him, but I know I didn't kill him … He was breathing when I put him in his bed." We're to believe that Crews clubbed Bill in the head at least once, put the injured man into his bed, and thought, "He's at least breathing, so no worries."?

Another rare occurrence is hearing Peter Thomas make a comment that gives the show self-awareness. Typically, the cases are presented with no context to the storyteller. You rarely hear the interviewer. But at the 19:55 mark, Thomas says, "During our interview…" and describes Crews' death threats against Mike Hale. The 'our' in his statement carries a unique perspective. Just prior, we get an uncommon glimpse from behind the fourth wall and see Bryan Crews' interview staging – lights, camera, everything.

Considering Bryan Crews and Mike Hale

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

One could consider the murder of Bill Lowes and the two potential suspects, both present at his home on the night in question, as a case of "he-said, he-said". On one hand, Hale tells the plausible tale of Bryan Crews beating his ex-stepfather to death with an axe handle and claiming, "Bill Lowes will never bother my mother again." But this story only emerges when investigators put pressure on Mike Hale.

On the other hand, Crews implicates Mike Hale in Lowes' murder. Needing a scapegoat, Crews told authorities that Hale must have returned to Bill Lowes' house and beaten him with the axe handle. But this doesn't make as much sense. What would've been Hale's motivation? Bryan Crews was the one harboring animosity for Bill Lowes. And though Bryan and his mother Wanda claim to not know about it, Bill had a $20k life insurance policy still payable to Wanda.

Overlooking Hale's lack of motive, other circumstances could make Mike Hale the killer. Hale knew the location of the murder weapon, claiming he saw Bryan throw it on the building's roof. But Hale could've thrown it up there instead. The crime scene and autopsy reports indicated Bill was in bed and asleep when he was attacked. Bill had no defensive wounds, and all the blood spatter was found in the bedroom. None of this information disproves Crews' hypothesis, suggesting Mike Hale could've been Bill's killer.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

Where this version of events falls apart is with the blood found (and not found) on the suspects' clothing. The brutality needed to create that much blood spatter in Bill's bedroom is shocking. The murderer could not have helped but get medium velocity impact spatter on his clothing. While the clothes worn my Mike Hale on the night in question showed no blood evidence, the same was far from true for Bryan Crews. So how does Crews square the circle? There's blood on your clothes, but you didn't beat the man to death? Explain Bill's blood on your shirt and pants then.

Bryan and Mike seemed to be an odd pairing as far as 'best friends' go. The math around the dates in question would make a 31-year-old Hale the best friend of an 18-year-old Crews. Unless it was someone who could buy me booze or drugs, my 18-year-old self wasn't typically friends (let alone best friends) with any 31-year-olds.

Help me Wanda (Knupp)!

"Bill was Wanda's sixth husband." Wanda was 39 years old. Let that sink in. If Wanda first married at age 18, a bit of math shows that she remarried about every four years. What happened with these gentlemen? Did each relationship sour? Did any of these husbands die? Wanda would've been about 22 when she had Bryan – he was likely the son of Wanda's first or second husband. Did Wanda have any other children from her other marriages?

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

If the episode showed several pictures of Wanda Knupp, why did her interview show only her shadowy silhouette? A little more math indicates Wanda was likely about 60 years old by the time this episode aired in 2009. There was footage around the 8:30 mark showing Wanda going through paperwork. Note the wedding-like band on her left ring finger. She and Bill were divorced, and she had a boyfriend in 1990 when Bill was killed. This seems like an indication of Wanda's seventh (or eighth or ninth?) husband.

Bryan and his mother both indicated that Bill Lowes had the propensity to become violent when he drank heavily. Bill's brother Joe denied that his brother was physically abusive. Bill Lowes had two other ex-wives – were either of these women questioned about Bill's behavior pattern? What was the underlying truth? What do you think?

Bryan Crews' just rewards

The evidence told jurors what they needed to know to convict Bryan Crews of Bill Lowes' murder. There were no foreign fingerprints at Bill's house, no forced entry, a witness (albeit with questionable motivations), and most damning, the victim's blood on Bryan's clothes. In his attempt to distance himself from the crime, Bryan might have also inadvertently swayed the jury in the wrong direction. Admitting he hit Bill with the axe handle but "didn't kill him" and lying about him being drunk – not smart.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

A few lingering questions persist for me though:

• What of Wanda's or Bryan's was still at Bill's house after a year, necessitating Bryan's visit?
• Even if Bryan's shoe impression was made days earlier, why was it by Bill's bedroom window?
• Did Wanda Knupp receive the $20k from Bill's insurance?
• Does the statement "Here she has twenty thousand motives to have him killed" mean that a 'motive' is valued at a single dollar?

Where is Bryan Crews now in 2024?